The High Court

Deep Thinkers Only...

The Lion King

I suppose we better begin this latest Hall of Fame case with a confession:  Ted Simmons was my very first favorite baseball player.  Simmons was catching for the St. Louis Cardinals in the late 70’s (in ’77 or ’78, I think) when I saw him homer in the first televised baseball game I can clearly remember.  And from that point until his retirement in 1988, Ted Simmons was my favorite player.  In 1983, as a ten-year old, I was fortunate enough to get Ted’s autograph on a baseball given to me by Milwaukee Brewers coach Larry Haney (and had the privilege of meeting one of the great gentlemen of baseball, Harvey Kuenn).  That ’83 Brewers team featured Paul Molitor, Don Sutton, and Robin Yount, all of whom would go on to the Hall of Fame.  And just my luck, I didn’t get a single autograph from any of those guys.  So here we go, Ted.  If I am ever going to own the signature of a Hall of Famer, we have to get you in.

 

That job will fall to the Hall of Fame Veterans Committee, because in their infinite wisdom, the BBWAA voters gave Simmons so little support that he eventually fell off of the ballot (Nice job, guys.  Click here to read more about my issues with the Hall voters).  And just why has Ted Simmons received so little support?  That is a very good question.  We know part of it owes to the fact that he played the prime of his career in the very long shadow of Johnny Bench, but that Simmons has not been given the same respect accorded to Hall of Famers Gary Carter and Carlton Fisk is beyond me.

 

The man they called Simba (for the long mane he kept in the 70’s) was quite simply the finest hitting catcher in the big leagues in the 1970’s.  Period.  Bench had more home run power, but no backstop hit the baseball as well as Ted Simmons.  He finished his career with 2,472 hits (483 doubles), 248 homers, 1389 RBI, and a .285 average.  That .285 lifetime number, however, doesn’t do the man justice.  In the 70’s, Simmons hit .300 or better five times, with a career high .332 in 1975 (good for 2^nd in the NL).  Ted drove in 90 runs or more five times (and 100 or more twice) in the decade, and was one of the most respected hitters in the league.  Simmons became an offensive force playing mostly on poor Cardinal teams with little lineup support, as witnessed by the fact that he led the National League in intentional passes received twice (’76 and ’77).  Playing in cavernous Busch Stadium (during Simmons’ era you had to hit it twice to get it out of the park) for much of his career, Simmons did not have huge home run numbers, but he was such an outstanding offensive player that he ended up receiving more intentional walks than noted Cardinal slugger Mark McGwire, 188-150.  Ted’s 188 intentional walks were good for 15^th all-time entering the 2005 season.

 

Simmons’ critics would point to the fact that he was a poor defensive catcher, but that is not entirely true.  He was never a great defensive catcher (Simmons struggled mightily with passed balls early in his career, and he was never a deterrent to the running game), but Simmons was one of the most intelligent players in the game.  Simmons was by all accounts a tremendous leader, and he had the savvy to call a good game and handle his pitching staff.  Brewer battery mates Pete Vuckovich and Rollie Fingers both won Cy Young Awards with Simmons behind the plate (and Fingers won the MVP).  Simmons was never a defensive force in the mold of Bench or Pudge Rodriguez, but to simply dismiss him as an awful defensive catcher is unfair.

 

As to the tremendous baseball intellect I mentioned earlier, Simmons was regarded by everyone that had been around him on the baseball field as the absolute master in picking up the signs of opponents.  Most in the game felt like he would have been a natural to step right into the manager’s chair, but following the end of his career, Simmons decided his place in the game would be upstairs in the front office.  He would begin his career as director of player development for the Cardinals before moving on the general manager’s job in Pittsburgh.  Simmons would leave the post following a heart attack in 1993, but would return to baseball as a scout for the Cleveland Indians.  He is currently working as an assistant to Padres general manager Kevin Towers.

 

Ted Simmons is just another example of the disrespect the Hall of Fame voters have shown to stars of the 1970’s and 1980’s.  Like Andre Dawson, Goose Gossage, Jack Morris, Dale Murphy, Jim Rice, and Bruce Sutter, Simmons has a legitimate case for consideration.  I would not bother to compare his career to that of immortals like Bench or Yogi Berra, but given the fact that Carter and Fisk are in, and the likelihood that Mike Piazza will someday be a Hall of Famer despite being a poor defensive catcher, then Simba is absolutely worthy.

 

Simmons had more lifetime hits than Bench, Carter, and Fisk.  He had a lifetime average better than all three.  He drove in more runs than all three.  He never struck out more than 57 times in a season, and he finished in the top ten in his league in batting average six times.  All told for his career, Simmons would top 90 RBI in a season eight times (with three 100 RBI seasons).  When all was said and done, Ted Simmons was one of the most productive catchers in baseball history.

 

Despite being an eight-time All-Star, he never had the national stage like Fisk in ’75, Carter in ’86, or Bench (for his career), but Simmons was quietly excellent for his entire career.  And despite the fact that he didn’t hit well in limited postseason action (.186 with three homers in 59 AB), Simmons helped a mediocre Brewers franchise to the cusp of a World Series title in 1982.  He was a great player, a great leader, and a great baseball mind.  Ted Simmons deserves a place in Cooperstown.

 

But don’t worry, Simba.  Even if the Hall never calls, you will always have a special place in The High Court Hall of Fame.  And as Don Mattingly can tell you, that’s pretty good company.

 

 

(Rob Rains’ Cardinals Where Have You Gone? Series from thestlcardinals.com was used as a reference for background information on Ted Simmons.)

 

(Statistics for Ted Simmons courtesy of www.Baseball-Reference.com.)

 

 

Email The Chief Justice at chiefjustice@thehighcourtofsports.com.

Simmons, shown here as a Milwaukee Brewer, was one of the finest switch-hitters in big league history.  He hit two homers for the Brewers against his old club, the Cardinals, in the 1982 World Series.

(Milwaukee Brewers)